Finally got around to digitize clips from the July Best MOTORing tape. There is over 50 minutes of video covering the RX-8 and comparable cars. I will try to make available first the clips that I think most people here would be interested in seeing. Also, I will be posting only one clip a day to hopefully avoid the hits from overloading the server. I know portions of the videos have already been posted, but I think some of you might still be interested in seeing the segments in their entirety (and at higher-res).

Mirrors are welcome, I just request that the filenames be kept the same to avoid confusion and unnecessary duplicates. Please keep as zip archives so MediaPlayer doesn't try streaming it.

Finally, let's try to avoid follow-ups along the lines of my-car-is-better-than-yours, etc. There is already a thread that takes care of that discussion (link (http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5332)), imo, equals parts insight and flamebait. Also, please don't link directly to my site from other sites and other forums, I've had to disable previous BM video downloads because of this. Thanks!

*** Audio is Japanese, no sub-titles, sorry ***

Technical:

source: NTSC VHS 720x480 DV capture
process: deinterlace, resize (bicubic)
video: 640x480 DivX 5.05 780 kBit/s
audio: 48KHz stereo, MP3 128 kBit/s

Description:

BestMotoring_2003.07.avi (DV timecodes on left)

-- Part 01 - 01:42 min (10MB)
00:00:15 - title, prelude
00:01:12 - RX-8 launch (Takuya Kurosawa)

-- Part 02 - 05:59 min (39MB)
00:01:57 - history of the rotary engine, Cosmo 110, Savanna RX-7 SE

-- Part 03 - 08:53 min (59MB)
00:07:57 - a tachometer history of the rotary
00:08:24 - RX-8 overview
00:09:59 - 0-400m test
00:10:20 - RX-8, high speed track, lane change tests
00:13:07 - Skyline Coupe, 330i M (SMG) tests

-- Part 04 - 08:08 min (54MB)
00:16:51 - spin out, RX-8, Fairlady Z, S2000 slalom tests
00:20:20 - handling test rankings, lap times
00:23:45 - S2000, RX-8 slalom chase
00:24:29 - wet surface handling

-- Part 05 - 04:24 min (29MB)
00:25:00 - rear seats
00:25:34 - design analysis (RX-8, S2000, Fairlady Z, Skyline Coupe, 330i M)
00:27:39 - doors, interior comments
00:28:36 - trunk space, RX-8 vs Skyline

-- Part 06 - 06.01 min (40MB)
00:29:25 - RX-7 Spirit R, Roadster 1800RS, RX-8 comparision

-- Part 07 - 00:26 (1.7MB)
00:35:26 - Bose audio

-- Part 08 - 12:40 min (85MB)
00:35:53 - Tsukuba Battle, starting grid:
1. Roadster: Dragon Michigama
2. RX-8: Takuya Kurosawa
3. Integra TypeR: Naoki Hattori
4. S2000: Motoharu Kurosawa (Gan-san)
5. Skyline Coupe: Akihiko Nakaya
6. WRX: Takayuki Kinoshita
00:45:32 - Results

-- Part 09 - 01:54 min (12MB)
00:48:34 - Opinions from other drivers, Akihiko Nakaya's analysis of RX-8

-- Part 10 - 01:58 min (13MB)
00:50:29 - around the track with 3 passengers

-- Part 11 - 10:35 min (70MB)
00:52:27 - Porsche Carrera GT

-- Part 12 - 05:10 min (33MB)
01:03:03 - previews
01:06:33 - RX-8 AT analysis
01:08:18 - end

Links:

Day 1:
Part 03 - Handling test (http://www.rasterwerks.com/vid/BestMOTORing_2003.07_Part03.avi.zip)

Day 2:
Part 04 - Slalom test (http://www.rasterwerks.com/vid/BestMOTORing_2003.07_Part04.avi.zip)

Day 3:
Part 08 - Tsukuba Battle (http://www.rasterwerks.com/vid/BestMOTORing_2003.07_Part08.avi.zip)

Day 4:
Part 05 - Design (http://www.rasterwerks.com/vid/BestMOTORing_2003.07_Part05.avi.zip)
Part 06 - RX-7 Spirit R, Roadster 1800RS, RX-8 (http://www.rasterwerks.com/vid/BestMOTORing_2003.07_Part06.avi.zip)
Part 09 - Driver opinons (http://www.rasterwerks.com/vid/BestMOTORing_2003.07_Part09.avi.zip)

Requested:
Part 02 - History, Cosmo, Savanna (http://www.rasterwerks.com/vid/BestMOTORing_2003.07_Part02.avi.zip)
Part 01 - Title, launch (http://www.rasterwerks.com/vid/BestMOTORing_2003.07_Part01.avi.zip)

Great work Gamera, I appreciate it.

Got that first part (3rd section) Watching it now.

Cheers.

Thanks Gamera, I've been waiting for this video.

Why don't you put it up on BitTorrent?

Gamera,

FYI, Part 4 sounds distorted as heck...

D-san

Originally posted by Digisan
Gamera,

FYI, Part 4 sounds distorted as heck...

D-san

It sounded fine to me

Is there any way I could get the parts you've taken down?

I don't think he has taken any parts down. He's in the process of putting parts up as he rips them. To date, he's posted 2 of the videos with more to follow.

Thanks for the videos, BTW.

hey thanks, Gamera! i've been wanting to see this video...but i think what everyone really wants to see is that Tsukaba battle! can't wait...thanks, again!

thanks again Gamera!

I'm looking through the Part 03 test, watching the pedal / shift / speed of the tester...

Am I the only one who thinks he's shifting amazingly SLOW? My shifts in my current 'lude are about 1/3 the speed!!! Is that because he's aiming for top speed (and showing speed for each gear) rather than racing?

dang.. wish I could understand them.. argh.

Thanks very much...these clips are brilliant. Just watched Part 3 and realised how out of date the BMW looks.

Originally posted by Gamera
Mirrors are welcome, I just request that the filenames be kept the same to avoid confusion and unnecessary duplicates. Please keep as zip archives so MediaPlayer doesn't try streaming it.

I've setup a mirror for these files, according to Gamera's guidelines. Here are the links:

I apologize to all those who wanted to download these files from the mirror I setup, but I've had to shut it down -- I got busted by the "bandwidth police".

neofreak: BitTorrent is cool, but I don't think we'll have the participation levels needed to make it work here. But worth a try, maybe next time.

DigiSan: is the audio still messed up in Part 04? I can re-encode it if it is.

DisneyDestroyer: Yeah, he doesn't seem to driving it as hard as his father did at Laguna Seca. I would guess Gan-san has the most experience with the 8 at this point. The Battle results would probably have been different if the drivers were swapped around.

jtimbck2: Thanks for the mirror!

--
Okay, Part 08 - Tsukuba Battle is now up. Anyone have a preference which part is posted next?

dang what happened there.. the 8 fell like a brick.....

I cant understand them, so I don't know their explanations at the end.. can anyone subtitle it? hehehe

Nice! Thanks for taking the time to post them.

Don't we have some Japanese members on this site? Maybe they could give us a rough translation of what they were saying.

Originally posted by RX-Nut
dang what happened there.. the 8 fell like a brick.....

I cant understand them, so I don't know their explanations at the end.. can anyone subtitle it? hehehe


Yes the RX-8 got smoked in the Tsukuba race. It even got out draged by that Intrega Type R on that long straight which is supposed to have less HP. I'll love to know what the drivers said about it.

I would love to see Part 5 if you guys get a chance! Thanks for the videos!
Mathteacher

Great videos! THX !!!!!

Sorry guys,

Im trying to see the videos but it just pauses at a certain frame. The sound goes on, but the frame just stays there.

Am I missing something? What do I need to resolve it?

Thanx

Why does the s2000 have 250ps instead of 240hp like the US? The wrx also had 250ps instead of 227hp? I know that ps < hp but I think the difference would only account to be a couple hp like maybe 3hp meaning 250ps = 247hp, but the s2k and the wrx both do not have 247hp so whats going on? Another interesting thing is how the 350z and the g35c both have the same output of 280ps, while in the US the 350z = 287hp and the g35 = 280hp. The most interesting portion of the video was the straights, did anyone noticed how much all the cars were pulling on the rx-8? It seemed like the rx-8 was standing still letting other cars walk right past it. It seems alot like the stuck port situation because right before the rx-8 was shifting into the next gear the other cars had considerably more speed or power to move the car along past the 8. Power for the 8 seems to drop before its redline is reached. Or maybe like some people on the forum have stated I'm suffering from that port sticking syndrome haha. Does anyone else have any views on the video and the weird hp/ps discrepencies?

Originally posted by bong
Sorry guys,

Im trying to see the videos but it just pauses at a certain frame. The sound goes on, but the frame just stays there.

Am I missing something? What do I need to resolve it?

Thanx

You got the Divx codec on your machine, right?

Originally posted by bong
Sorry guys,

Im trying to see the videos but it just pauses at a certain frame. The sound goes on, but the frame just stays there.

Am I missing something? What do I need to resolve it?

Thanx

I had the same problem. I uninistalled the older ver of Divx and d/l & installed the newer ver 5.05 .

I wonder if the RX8 in the Tsukuba Circuit battle was having the tertiary port sticking problem.

I don't understand... what happened to my '8 that was going to Kick A-- and Take Names...

:( :( :( :( :(

I feel somewhat let down by watching the performance at the Tsukuba Battle...

I also thought the S2000 was 240hp, WRX: 227hp, etc.

I truly hope the driver was showing more for the camera than he was actually RACING the other cars... It's still one of the most beautiful cars I've ever seen and an amazing work of 'alternative engine-eering' but I still feel dismayed.

If the driver was truly 'pushing' the car, could the results be a question of the low-torque dilemma of the Renesis?

(I know, let's strap a DynaCam engine into that bad boy and see what happens... )

can someone else translate this time? it doesn't take that long but i'm kinda tired of all the translating...and also my video card is so screwed up it's not even funny. it takes out all the fun from translating cuz i can't really see the video! there're others who know japanese and english equally well arent there?

Thanks for the video's, I couldn't help thinking I'd like to see the race again with a change of drivers.The guy in the Skyline was absolutely hammering it with powerslides, etc. The guy driving the 8 looked like he was out foa a sunday afternoon drive.
I almost expected to see the Miata overtake the 8 on the line

ok i'll get you all started as a summary....in the last comments:

{RX-8 DRIVER} very high [ok, i'm still an amateur in this area,
is "high" the right word? "tall"? "long"?] gear ratios, doesn't feel like the final gear ratio is right. even in the back straight, almost didn't have to use the 4th gear. in the corners, going in at 2nd gear the rpm drops below 6000. even when i slammed on the throttle there was no explosive acceleration.

{INTEGRA R DRIVER} i took a lap just to investigate how the rx-8 was performing. the biggest problem i saw was the acceleration, where i could just follow very easily. the corner speed is frighteningly bad...and so combined with no acceleration, you can pass right by. [altho i kinda feel like i didn't hear something right...esp the corner speed part, someone confirm that part. maybe inte-R was just too fast.]

{IMPREZA DRIVER} in the straights the rx-8 just lost so badly, i felt bad for it's an NA rotary. i mean i have a turbo so in the straights it's uncomparable. in corners the impreza loses though.

{SKYLINE DRIVER} the skyline is very good. it can win against the rx-8 in the straights as well as the corners, and in acceleration obviously it has more power and so it's faster.

{MIATA DRIVER} miata is very consistent from beginning to end. the power is just very lacking however. [didn't really say much about 8]

{EVERYONE'S MIXED COMMENTS} rx-8's lap time is pretty consistent within one second, and perhaps that's attributed to its light weight. so to summarize, it's easy to drive and very fun. the biggest improvement it can make is acceleration. it's not a circuit car, but you can run it if you want. fun to drive.


gan-san just kinda monitored their comments, asking them what each of them saw of the 8 from inside their cars.
that's pretty much it for the last words by the drivers.
someone translate the rest! or fix my computer.

I too expected to see the S2000 pull way ahead of the X8 off the line. But, the X8 was in the second pole position and it smoked all the other cars for most of the first lap. It was a true disappointment to see my lovely RX-8 do so poorly! As I watched the battle take place, around the 3rd and 4th lap, I noticed that the X8 driver wasn't giving it much. :o

I wanted to just reach in the video and give the RX-8 a freaking TURBO! I mean cmon, most of the cars it battled against had either single or twin turbo. I bet if the X8 had a turbo on the engine stock, it would of been at least in the top 2. Although, all the other cars have been in development for many years and, the companies have been tweaking and adding polish each year to there new version of there cars. Take the WRX for example, What an improvement over the last years model! The X8 is a BRAND NEW, second generation rotary engine that eats its predecessor alive.. Wait until the x8's next model to see allot more polish and refinement. Hell, for the worlds second rotary engine available to the public in this cylinder engine powered world, you cant beet it!

I've loved the RX-7 since 95' and when I saw the X8 I was in love.
Even though this years model isn't All-That-And-A-Bag-Of-Chips, it still has a large place in my heart. Congrats to Mazda for sticking with the odd engine type that no other company wanted to pursue but, IMHO I think Mazda should of put forth more effort in optimizing the X8's rotor just to show all the other companies what they left in the scrap pile. In a world of cylinders, an engine so different coupled with a body style as slick as the X8, its in a class of its own.:p

So what if the X8 lost, If it'd had a turbo, it would of most certainly done much better. Long live the Mazda RX series!:D

Also, What about link #4? Why isn't that up? Will it be soon?

Thanks for your time.:cool:

Thanks bunches hikoboy for what you were able to give us.

Handling does not appear to be an issue - just acceleration.

Hmm... No one understands the hp mix ups? and the rx-8 really didn't burn anyone at the beginning it was just because the placement of the cars so the rx-8 had a head start but eventually got taken by all the other cars. None of the cars in the video except the wrx had turbo.

s2k = inline 4, 240hp, 153ft-lbs / Video states 250ps
g35 = v6, 280hp, 270ft - lbs / Video states 280ps
rsx-r = inline 4, 220hp, about 150ft-lbs / Video states 220ps
rx-8 = 2 rotor, 250hp, 159ft-lbs / Video states 250ps
*wrx = turbo 4, 227hp, 217ft-lbs / Video states 250ps

as you can see the wrx is the only turbo car and many of the cars like the wrx,s2k, and the rsx have more hp then their US counter parts. I know the rsx-r is a much different car then the type s in the states but the other 2 cars the wrx and s2k should be completely the same. If the s2k does 250hp from its 2.0L inline 4 it's hp/l number would be 125 instead of the 120 number that everyone taked about during its release. I believe the rx-8 had problems like the stuck ports or the driver wasnt pushing it enough( I noticed he was kind of light on the gas pedal when they showed close ups). The gearing should not be tall because their were previous discussions on how the gearing was done well for the car and helps eliminate the lack of low end torque. Many things just dont seem to make sense.

Thx hikoboy for that part of the translation. Much appreciated!!! :)

Hikoboy: Thanks for the translations! Sorry to hear you're still having technical problems. Do MPEG-1 videos play properly on that machine?

--
Parts 05, 06, 09 are now up. Have a great weekend guys!

yea, it's hard to say whether it was the driver or the car...
I mean look at the part where the RSX just plain overtook the 8 in the straight... doesnt take much driver to do that.. :(

what's so different about the japan RSX vs the US one.. all I know is that the US version is very low powered.. would be a shame to get overtaken by one of them..

on another note.. I'm no race car driver but why is he spanning his foot over the brake and gas pedal at some points in the race?

Originally posted by RX-Nut
I'm no race car driver but why is he spanning his foot over the brake and gas pedal at some points in the race?

Neither am I, but that is called "heel and toe". Do a search on this forum.

Basically, when you are going into a hard turn at the limits of the car, downshifting to a lower gear can de-stabilize it. So, the guy (in nuetral) was braking and pumping the gas to match revs so the downshift would be smoother. Hhehe.. better do I search I really don't know what I'm talking about.... :D

Here check out this rx-8 video for heel / toe action, it kicks arse...
Time attack: Divx
Movie length: 2.26 mins
File size: 17.2 MB
http://www.mymazdarotary.com/rx-8_videos/time-attack.avi

Thanks for clearing that up AsianStyle. Also, I too agree that the X8 driver wasnt doing his best. Lets just hope there are more videos in the future showing the X8 racing.. Does anyone know what you can add on to the X8? Turbo, SuperCharger etc. And how much more HP and Speed it will gain?

Correct me if im wrong but doesn't the JAP WRX have 20 more horses on the US version?

Driver was lame... If u c the s2000 driver he was driving like he was racing. The 8 driver looked like he was driving casual bsds the hell toe. The 8 would atleast get 2nd place if a better driver had performed it.

Gamera,

I DLed part four again and it's working great.

Thanks,

D-san

The RX-8 sucks! No real power, all RPM and no real power. Cornering is OKAY and acceleration sucks! Final gear is for overdrive only and long straights are slow only to show off the only good thing about it, THE BODY. Gas pedals only press half way and if you'd like pedal-to-the-medal capabilities, you need to purchase the "Still not enough power" package for an additional $7,420.

I think thats what the driver tried to proclaim by the way he was racing the X-8. Hell, my grandma who doesn't know what a manual transmission is could pull a better position. I honestly think something was wrong. The X8 shouldn't of gotten passed by EVERY SINGLE CAR! Sorry, just had to blow some steam. :p

Don't get so obsessed guys... it's only one video, regardless of how it was driven...

Independant reviews will always say and illustrate different things; that being said... wait till the car comes in and drive it. If it's not for you, then well.. it's not.

For me though, I'm hopeful that it is for me :)

i see a lot of people think that the driver was bad...that could be true...when they're actually racing, at 3 min 24 seconds, gan-san is right behind the 8 and says "why would you brake there?" maybe there were other places where the 8 driver was faulty in his driving.
but that's just one incident that i heard of any driver in the video that even slightly hinted at the driver's technique. i dunno...just telling it like it is. they should swap drivers for the next race which i'm sure they'll have.

Hmmm, interesting. I suppose on the plus side the RX-8 was only a couple of seconds off the pace of the other cars and considering one was a Suburu Impreza that's not too poor. However I'm surprised that it didn't nail the S2000. My car will be slower still as it's a 231ps UK version.

Originally posted by Lensman
However I'm surprised that it didn't nail the S2000. My car will be slower still as it's a 231ps UK version.

Really?

I've never expected the RX-8 to outperform the Honda. It's got the same (or more) power, but in a lighter body, so why would the S2000 be quicker? :-/


-andy-

Originally posted by sixspeed


Really?

I've never expected the RX-8 to outperform the Honda. It's got the same (or more) power, but in a lighter body, so why would the S2000 be quicker? :-/


-andy-

More linear power delivery.

From the RX-8...?

The S2000 is quite peaky, but so long as it's kept in the rev-range that shouldn't be a problem...


-andy-

Originally posted by sixspeed
From the RX-8...?

The S2000 is quite peaky, but so long as it's kept in the rev-range that shouldn't be a problem...


-andy-

Agreed but it should be possible to apply the power of the RX-8 with greater ease than that of the Honda and I would have assumed that it would make some difference. Evidentally not. ;)

I was wondering... when they do these races for the mag, are there any accidents or mishaps? It seems like there were many, many close calls.

Also, I did catch him saying something about the "braking" as well.

The s2k actually has less hp and less torque then the rx-8, but regains that from the weight difference which is couple hundred pounds, roughly 3000lbs vs 2700. The s2k is a very nice car but the way the power is outputed is different from the rx-8 which is suppose to have a smooth output of power while the s2k is peaky, going fast only when in the power band or vtec, but for some reason the s2k featured in the video has 250ps which is equal to the rx-8 so the s2k should have had an advantage over the 8 if the specs are true.

The X8 should of at least been in 3rd position. I cant wait to see another battle inthe future.. Provided there is one.:( The X8 is very light, lighter than the X7 and it still under-performs. Either way, the X8 is the best looking car in the batle, Next is the WRX and then the S2000. I cant wait to see what improvments next years model sports..

of all the videos i've seen in the past (which aren't many at all), i haven't seen accidents but just close calls. one incident in which gan-san took a corner too sharply and steered outwards, causing the car next to him veer outwards, which made the car next to it steer out of the track. very funny actually. cuz that was gan-san's son. in another video a porsche lost its clutch or something and suddenly made a sharp turn where a gt-r was coming right behind. that caused the gt-r to go offcourse but he drifted back on track and won the race. that driver was nakaya, who's the skyline coupe driver in this race with the 8, and after seeing that mishap i thought he's also one of the better drivers in BM. most a lot of the races he's usually in 2nd or 3rd place. but then he usually has the gt-r or evo...in the old days.

the specs in the video should be correct. j-spec s2000 has 250hp. and it also has 160lb-ft of torque. so it's no surprise that it was faster. s2000 has a pretty broad power band too doesn't it? i mean once it hits vtec it keeps going until the end. is the 8's that much diff? with those tertiary ports and all, i tend to think that it's pretty much the same.

The torque delivery is suppose to be much different. JSG, an ex-s2k driver converted into a rx-8 driver in jap, has already commented on the differences. He described the s2k as very peaky and hitting the vtech as the equivelance of the turbos kicking in while the rx-8 has a smooth power delivery so the power is sent gradually never feeling a sudden burst, which I translate to as a better daily driver and has a better power delivery regardless of the revs. The s2k's vtec is suppose to kick in couple thousand rpms after the the rx-8's ports open so the rx-8's power band should be longer. I've also seen videos of the rx-8 being shifted at 9.5k instead of the 9k redline meaning the rx-8's power band is even longer due to the fact the s2k's tach only goes up to 9k and it redlines at 9. So its the s2k's 7k-9k vs rx-8s 6/6.5k-9.5k I could be wrong though.

The RX8's powerband is not THAT much broader than the S2000's. The following is a link of the two torque curves superimposed:

http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=931&perpage=15&highlight=rx8 gearing ratios&pagenumber=11

Basically, the RX8 has 5-15 lb.-ft. more of engine torque through much of the powerband, but the RX8 also has 6 lb.-ft. more peak engine torque. However, take weight and gearing (the renesis's poor fuel efficiency limits its ability to use more aggressive gearing) and its advantage is lost. Whenever the S2000 switches to I-VTEC, the curves will likely get more similar, but the comparison won't be as clean as it looks like Honda is dropping the redline at the same time. :mad:

its a four door sallon car and it stops the clock first........

Originally posted by Lensman


Agreed but it should be possible to apply the power of the RX-8 with greater ease than that of the Honda and I would have assumed that it would make some difference. Evidentally not. ;)

On the road you may be right, but on the track - then yes, it's not really an issue. You're driving the car flat out all the time, so it's not going to drop below it's ideal rev-range.

On the road though, the more linear delivery of the RX-8 means you may be able to "catch out" (for want of a better phrase) an S2k.


Wasn't that Top Gear's (or some such program) moan about the S2k when it was first reviewed. It was a little too much for the road, because to get the performance out of it you had to be driving it flat out. I guess the same could be said of any VTEC engine though (and I suppose, the RX?)


-andy-

Info about the drivers:
http://www.miataforum.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=012310

And yes, the RX-8 guy in the video is a good one

As someone at the link above posted:

"Mazda is known for making interesting cars cheap. Not awesome cars, just interesting ones. Ones you can get excited by. Ones you can actually afford to drive.
In order to pull it off, they sacrifice some of the obvious and invest the difference in the soul of the car."

Think about RX-8 as the Miata. A car with a soul. It is not made to be a fast car, but it is made to be fun to drive

Originally posted by jmanolov
Info about the drivers:
http://www.miataforum.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=012310

And yes, the RX-8 guy in the video is a good one

As someone at the link above posted:

"Mazda is known for making interesting cars cheap. Not awesome cars, just interesting ones. Ones you can get excited by. Ones you can actually afford to drive.
In order to pull it off, they sacrifice some of the obvious and invest the difference in the soul of the car."

Think about RX-8 as the Miata. A car with a soul. It is not made to be a fast car, but it is made to be fun to drive


OMG come on that such a cop out. It's like in little league after your kid looses..."hey its not who wins or looses but the spirit of the game." please...

This should be a wakeup call to mazda to start pushing the power on their cars. My 6 is so slugish ... the miata ...slow

The mazdaspeed protege .. slow

Then you shouldn't have bought the 6.

As I have said for over a year now... if you're looking at the RX-8 to be faster in a straight line or around a track.. you're buying it for the wrong reasons.

I am buying it because it's powered adequately and it will (ideally) put a big smile on my face.

If power puts a smile on your face... look at another bloody car. Don't complain.

Originally posted by Hercules
Then you shouldn't have bought the 6.

As I have said for over a year now... if you're looking at the RX-8 to be faster in a straight line or around a track.. you're buying it for the wrong reasons.

I am buying it because it's powered adequately and it will (ideally) put a big smile on my face.

If power puts a smile on your face... look at another bloody car. Don't complain.



That's why i bought the mazda6 .. it takes corners REAL nice !!!! and has LOTS of interior room and manumatic

but I'm not dillusional in thinking it's some hot shot sports car that can take out a rsx/wrx or s2000....

Enjoy your cars... life is short :)

The JDM WRX has a variable valve timing that the US doesn't have - giving it 247 hp (250 ps).
And you guys thinking the Best Motoring guy wasn't driving fast enough - keep dreaming - the car is just slow.
The RSX is a Type R - no shame in losing to that!

Originally posted by Dawg
The JDM WRX has a variable valve timing that the US doesn't have - giving it 247 hp (250 ps).
And you guys thinking the Best Motoring guy wasn't driving fast enough - keep dreaming - the car is just slow.
The RSX is a Type R - no shame in losing to that!


The wrx is fast considering it's AWD
usually AWD tranny suck a lot of power


Whats funny is I told you all way back in July of 2002 that this car ain't gonna be fast. It''ll have worse sales than the 6 sadly too because its not a true sedan. Of course all you "enthusiasts" are so blind and think the rx-8 is the holy grail
lol

block, please STOP the car isn't about racing 350z's or Neons at stoplights. Im only 16 and im mature enough to realize that that kinda stuff is reseverd for men who need to make up for something in life. Sure if you look at it your NEON is 3th's of a second faster then the 8 in the quater, but big SHIT. Its also a NEON for christ sake man thats worse then a civic. Its great that u have ur lil 3th's but you don't have style, i meen what kid grows up saying im going to drive a neon ooo0o0o and its going to be turbocharged so its not as slow as the regular neons because their ugly. The 8 is more then a car it a work of art.

FYI the car is selling like hot cakes, just stoped by my dealer today said the cars will be in monday and 16 of the first 20 cars have been sold. (can't wait to go test drive :D

Originally posted by PoLaK
block, please STOP the car isn't about racing 350z's or Neons at stoplights. Im only 16 and im mature enough to realize that that kinda stuff is reseverd for men who need to make up for something in life. Sure if you look at it your NEON is 3th's of a second faster then the 8 in the quater, but big SHIT. Its also a NEON for christ sake man thats worse then a civic. Its great that u have ur lil 3th's but you don't have style, i meen what kid grows up saying im going to drive a neon ooo0o0o and its going to be turbocharged so its not as slow as the regular neons because their ugly. The 8 is more then a car it a work of art.

FYI the car is selling like hot cakes, just stoped by my dealer today said the cars will be in monday and 16 of the first 20 cars have been sold. (can't wait to go test drive :D


What the fyck are you talking about? What neon? Stop smoking rat poison ...
dink

If the car isn't about racing then why have a racing section here?

"RX-8 Competition(Racing) "

motard

Originally posted by block911



OHHH so it rules in the twisties


so how'd it get owned in auto-x

LOL

zoom zoom my ass HEHEH


srtforums.com ownz j000z


That was my reference to the neon's...... and the keyword to our racing section is Competition which infers a organized event that isn't going to be a straight line.

Do not start a flame war with me.

"Do not start a flame war with me."


nah i'm not a looser with a ton of time to kill posting on a gey board for a slower than a rsx car.... hence my low post count.. omg look at yours LOL!!!

Peace..

Block: plz stop trolling. I just had to wade through multiple posts of crud in order to find out that there are no other "new" videos to be had/viewed.

Much appreciated, Thx! ;)

Originally posted by AsianStyle
Hmm... No one understands the hp mix ups? and the rx-8 really didn't burn anyone at the beginning it was just because the placement of the cars so the rx-8 had a head start but eventually got taken by all the other cars. None of the cars in the video except the wrx had turbo.

s2k = inline 4, 240hp, 153ft-lbs / Video states 250ps
g35 = v6, 280hp, 270ft - lbs / Video states 280ps
rsx-r = inline 4, 220hp, about 150ft-lbs / Video states 220ps
rx-8 = 2 rotor, 250hp, 159ft-lbs / Video states 250ps
*wrx = turbo 4, 227hp, 217ft-lbs / Video states 250ps

as you can see the wrx is the only turbo car and many of the cars like the wrx,s2k, and the rsx have more hp then their US counter parts. I know the rsx-r is a much different car then the type s in the states but the other 2 cars the wrx and s2k should be completely the same. If the s2k does 250hp from its 2.0L inline 4 it's hp/l number would be 125 instead of the 120 number that everyone taked about during its release. I believe the rx-8 had problems like the stuck ports or the driver wasnt pushing it enough( I noticed he was kind of light on the gas pedal when they showed close ups). The gearing should not be tall because their were previous discussions on how the gearing was done well for the car and helps eliminate the lack of low end torque. Many things just dont seem to make sense.

If i am not mistaken the wrx in japan has more horse power than the US model. The US model has the 227hp because higher emission standards. So the one in the video is actually the faster japanese model. The STI in the states is faster than the sti in japan because of the 2.5 Liter that the one in the states has.

Originally posted by block911
"Do not start a flame war with me."


nah i'm not a looser with a ton of time to kill posting on a gey board for a slower than a rsx car.... hence my low post count.. omg look at yours LOL!!!

Peace..

Yes you are a looser with tons of time;your 64 post proves it... This place is very informative and the people here are very respectful please don't troll around.

What do rx8forum.com
Satan
Block911 parents
have in common.
We don't care about block911.

You got the video on VHS?

Check this website for tons of Best Motoring VCD's, much easier to handle :) Some video samples online too!

http://www.tuningpt.com/bestmotoring/en/bestmotoring.htm

Let's pretend for one second that the 174whp dyno on the 6MT RX-8 was actually accurate. Would that account for the event that took place in the BM video? I mean, a 174whp RX-8 would have been passed easily by WRX and Integra R. Possible?

Is this thread ever going to include the rest of the video? I know there may be a bandwidth limitation problem, but I'd love to download the rest of the pieces.

Just posted Parts 01 and 02 (as requested). I don't think the remaining segments would interest anyone here, except maybe the Carrera GT one, but let me know.

I have one question: does the japanese rx-8 have no shift up buzzer ?

In the laguna seca time attack video the driver made the buzzer everytime he shift but in the tsukuba battle it does not sound even one time.

Is it posible he was changing gears at 8,500?

Haha, the only reason RX8 lost was because of bad driver. Let's put Gan-San in RX8 and race them. We'll see who'll be 1st or 2nd then.

I bet my life on it ( well maybe not win but at least 3er)

And look at the times the type r was faster than the g35c.

Just watched these videos for the first time and guess what?

I want the RX-8 more than ever.

Slaloms, 360 degree turns ... I'm not exactly expecting to do this sort of driving on a daily basis ....

Of course, I expect to rev the hell out of the thing and have fun on some pretty twisty roads, but this track just wasn't representative.

If you actually look at the way the RX-8 behaves; it seems much more "in-control" ... Admitted, the S2000 looks as nimble as hell, but we're not comparing like for like .... If you want a two-seater go for the S2000, otherwise the RX-8 is almost as much fun but much more predictable than the others.

As for the drivers ... I think the RX8 driver was a real pussy, but it didn't stop me seeing the car's real potential!! :)

Originally posted by mr_digital_uk

As for the drivers ... I think the RX8 driver was a real pussy, but it didn't stop me seeing the car's real potential!! :)

Yeah, right ..... he is a pussy and you are what? - a bench racer at his finest ... ? :)

Check his resume. Do you think a guy like that can't push a regular low performance car like a stock RX-8 to the limits ?

Kurosawa Takuya :
Test Driver for Jordan Honda F-1 Team
Driver for PIAA JTCC Accord
Former Driver for PIAA JGTC NSX
Driver for JGTC GT500 Castrol Tom's Supra
Competed as a Rookie in CART FedEx Championship
ex-F 3000 and Japan F3 champion
in 1998 Finished 10th in the 24 hours of Le Mans race

I dont think it was kurosawa that drove the RX8 was it?
I think it was his son. If Motoharu Kurosawa drove it, I think the ranking of the 8 will be higher.
I think he drove the S2000.

Yup, his son drove it, I though the link I posted above was to his son's bio. I just updated it above. The father drove the S2000

So his son (the RX-8 driver) was a test driver for a Formula 1 team and raced in CART. And the bench racers above claim him as a shitty driver ... LOL


Originally posted by bong
I dont think it was kurosawa that drove the RX8 was it?
I think it was his son. If Motoharu Kurosawa drove it, I think the ranking of the 8 will be higher.
I think he drove the S2000.

Hehe, it's funny how these know-it-alls are dissing Best Motoring drivers. Bring any of these drivers over and they'll slaughter anyone from these big name American publications. Bad driver, port not opened, not broken in, bad day, unfamiliar, gearing, wrong engine...... I wonder what else could have contributed to the results of the race? The car, maybe? ;)

If the RX-8 consistently gets around 1'11 at Tsukuba by various professional drivers from many publications, then it's got to be slower than its competition somewhere.

I guess you guys missed the episode where THE Kurosawa piloted track 350Z got beaten by his son in the G35C. Learn something before dissing the drivers.

Amen!

Originally posted by Skyline Maniac
Hehe, it's funny how these know-it-alls are dissing Best Motoring drivers. Bring any of these drivers over and they'll slaughter anyone from these big name American publications. Bad driver, port not opened, not broken in, bad day, unfamiliar, gearing, wrong engine...... I wonder what else could have contributed to the results of the race? The car, maybe? ;)

If the RX-8 consistently gets around 1'11 at Tsukuba by various professional drivers from many publications, then it's got to be slower than its competition somewhere.

I guess you guys missed the episode where THE Kurosawa piloted track 350Z got beaten by his son in the G35C. Learn something before dissing the drivers.

what experience does the drivers have? Are they just a test driver or current pro drivers in the leageu?

I just love this dam car !!!!! look how estable it looks, no fish tail no understeer.

Dam I want one!!!!

Originally posted by Etnies14ps
The X8 should of at least been in 3rd position. I cant wait to see another battle inthe future.. Provided there is one.:( The X8 is very light, lighter than the X7 and it still under-performs. Either way, the X8 is the best looking car in the batle, Next is the WRX and then the S2000. I cant wait to see what improvments next years model sports..


ehhh.....I was under the impression that the RX7 was a lot lighter than the 8. Am I totally crazy here?

For me this video plays for like 5 seconds and then it freezes up and I just get audio. Anyone have this problem or know of a solution?

Originally posted by jcrewlitz
For me this video plays for like 5 seconds and then it freezes up and I just get audio. Anyone have this problem or know of a solution?

Now go to www.divx.com and download & install the divx from there and it will solve the freezing you get

Thanks for sharing the videos.

Thanks for the vids and thanks for the translations!

I was surprised to see the '8 shoot into the front on the first bend and then just fade away. You can see during the race that the '8 does need more power to compete - but hey - it still looked the best out of all the cars there.

I'm sure the power situation will be addressed by modification/upgrades very soon.:D